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22 Oct, 4 tweets, 2 min read
ICYMI: We had a good run and brought our #FOIA challenge related to Trump's Oct 6 declassification tweets all the way up to the WH, forcing Mark Meadows to sign a sworn declaration stating that Trump told him he didn't mean what he tweeted

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 buzzfeednews.com/article/jasonl…
Today Judge Reggie Walton sided with govt but in my opinion reluctantly. He said: "It is unfortunate that we are in this situation because obviously where there are references to the declassification of classified info, those words spoken should be artfully spoken.."

2/
Judge Walton said Trump's tweets were "Inartful."

3/
It was a worthwhile battle we waged over the past two weeks. And now the public knows Trump said he doesn't mean what he tweets

Thanks @mvtopic

4/4

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More from @JasonLeopold

Jason Leopold Profile picture
22 Oct
Last Nov, Sens Grassley & Johnson sent a letter to FinCEN Director Ken Blanco requesting suspicious activity reports on Hunter Biden, Burisma & others

FinCEN swiftly turned over docs & the sens have been sitting on it for a year waiting for the right moment to weaponize it

1/ ImageImage
In comparison, when the Senate Intelligence Committee requested suspicious activity reports on individuals & entities related to Trump & his campaign as part of their Russia probe FinCEN in some instances did not turn over any SARs or made the committee wait.

2/
Some of those latter SARs formed the basis of the #FinCENFiles

It's unclear to me what the records FinCEN turned over on Hunter Biden say or how Grassley/Johnson intend to use it w/media, if at all

But I'll just note FinCEN made this statement prior to #FinCENFiles pubbing

3/ Image
Read 4 tweets
Jason Leopold Profile picture
17 Oct
From our #FinCENFiles investigation: Bank of America flagged $500K Michael Flynn's company received for his secret Turkish lobbying in 2016 as suspicious. But the bank didn't file a suspicious activity report w/#FinCEN until after Trump fired him
This new information highlights a major finding of the #FinCENFiles investigation: Banks often miss suspicious transactions when they occur.
The details in Bank of America’s May 4, 2017 suspicious activity report, or SAR, shed light on Flynn’s actions at a time when they, and his legal fate, are the subject of intense scrutiny.
Read 10 tweets
Jason Leopold Profile picture
16 Oct
This is INCREDIBLE

Judge Reggie Walton: I think when a president makes an unambiguous statement that he was declassifying information I don't think anything more is required. He clearly has indicated intent.

Walton wants WH counsel to speak to Trump about his tweets/intent
HOLY SHIT!

Judge Walton continues this hearing until next week. He specifically wants govt atty to get WH counsel to speak to Trump and find out intent of his declassification tweets and submit with the court
HISTORIC day. Govt attorneys can't just say Trump's tweets are meaningless and we should not take his orders seriously as they have been doing for 3+ years.

Now, govt attorneys must find out directly from the president what his intent was and file it with the court.

#FOIA
Read 4 tweets
Jason Leopold Profile picture
13 Oct
BREAKING: DOJ says WH did not send a declassification order re: Trump's tweets about "declassifying" all "Russia hoax" docs.

This is in response to 1 of 3 emergency motions @BuzzFeedNews & I filed.

ImageImageImage
THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENTS ON TWITTER DID NOT DECLASSIFY ANY INFORMATION--DOJ Image
Short of getting thousands of unredcated documents, this is exactly what I had hoped to pry loose out of DOJ.
Read 6 tweets
Jason Leopold Profile picture
11 Oct
THREAD

In March 2017, I filed a #FOIA request w/FBI along w/@_rshapiro for a wide range of records the agency had on Trump (prior to his presidency) & Trump's businesses.

We then sued. FBI turned over some docs but withheld many. 1 reason: ongoing investigation!

1/
For example, here's a doc related to Trump Plaza Hotel, the details of which have been withheld for decades b/c disclosure, FBI says, would interfere with ongoing law enforcement proceedings. That's the b7a exemption. And here's a page from a new FBI declaration abt it

2/
Here's some more news about what the FBI has on Trump's businesses that it won't turn over from the newly filed declaration in my/@_rshapiro #FOIA lawsuit.

Bank Secrecy Act records FBI obtained from FinCEN. That may refer to the Trump Taj Mahal case. Or something else

3/
Read 7 tweets
Jason Leopold Profile picture
7 Oct
@BuzzFeedNews & I have filed #FOIA lawsuits for nearly EVERY doc from the Mueller probe, including a suit to unredact the Mueller report, Crossfire Hurricane, DOJ IG FISA probe, AG Barr's intervention in Flynn & Stone cases

DOJ said there may be as many as 18 BILLION docs

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We will immediately explore how we can get these "Russia hoax" docs released in light of the claim by the President of the United States that he has ordered the declassification of all of these records.

2/
But, if DOJ advises the court, as it has previously, not to take Trump's tweets literally as it relates to the declassification and the release of "Russia hoax" documents I'll be sure to note quite loudly how the government overruled Trump

3/3
Read 4 tweets

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